


Old Captain Bearskin

by Lywinis



Series: One Shots -- Capsicoul [11]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Capsicoul - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-17
Updated: 2013-07-17
Packaged: 2017-12-20 10:50:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/886392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lywinis/pseuds/Lywinis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Captain Bearskin

Once upon a time, there was a soldier who had done much service in the king’s army. His name was Steven, and he worked hard and he had earned himself a living wage, along with the rank of Captain. Steven was a handsome man, with hair like spun gold and eyes of blue, a strong back and a healthy physique. He had earned admiration everywhere he went, though none had turned his head enough to make him settle down.

Eventually, the war ended (as wars are wont to do), and it left Steven without work. He was discharged with his final pay packet. This meant that he must seek work elsewhere. The thought of this did not bother Steven much, for he was good at manual labor, he was strong, and he did not shy away from hard work.

His first job was in the house of a man named Stark, whose father had been a friend of his before the war. Steven was offered a place in the household, but it did not feel right to live there and not work, and so Steven became a stablehand, cleaning up after the horses and feeding them. It was good work, although hard, and Steven often slept as soon as the sun went down.

One night, however, he was woken by the sound of footsteps in his room. He lit the lamp to find the lady of the house there. She sat on the bed and told him her problems. The Lord Stark was a good man, but Steven listened, and he did make the effort to be kind to her. As it was, she had fallen in love with him.

Steven, in good conscience, advised the Lady Virginia to return to her husband. The next day, he resigned, and opted to seek work elsewhere. It was better that they keep their marriage than he keep a job.

He worked hard, but at every place he worked, his gentle demeanor and his good looks earned him the eye of his employer’s wives or daughters. Steven couldn’t keep a job, and he could not even feed himself after a while. He had not yet taken to begging in the streets, but he was considering it when a strange man approached him.

He did not like the look of this man. He called himself Mephisto, and he smelt of brimstone and garlic. Steven did not much care for him, but the man was offering him a job. Steven could not afford to pick and choose where he would work at this point, and was forced to hear him out.

“What I would like, is for you to be my manservant. You will work for me for seven years.” Mephisto’s eyes flared red and he adjusted the green coat he wore, taking it off. Steven noticed his cloven hooves and swallowed hard. “No more, no less. I will give you a coat to wear and a skin to sleep in. You must not bathe, clip your nails, or shave your beard. You must also not cut your hair or pray. If you do this for that length of time, then you will be rich beyond your imagination, and you will never have to work again.”

Steven, eyeing the man, knew that he didn’t have much of a choice. He swallowed, then accepted. Mephisto handed him the green coat, along with a bear skin.  
  
“If you look in your pockets,” he said, “You will always have gold to spend. Remember our bargain. If you make it the seven years, you will be free. But if you die within that time, or you break our agreement, then I will own your soul.”

Steven knew he had made a deal, and he wasn’t afraid. He nodded his head, shrugged the coat on, and took the bear skin up and strapped it to his back. He and Mephisto parted ways, and he set off, looking for a place to spend the night.

He found an inn, and when he reached into his pockets, he found that they were indeed filled to the brim with gold coins. Steven, glad of this, paid for his room and gave some to a poor man outside who was begging.

When asked how he could be repaid, Steven just replied “Pray for old Captain Bearskin, for he cannot pray for himself.”

The next morning, he ate his breakfast and left without washing. He rolled his bearskin up and strapped it to his back, and set out to find a place in which to settle.

Steven, or Captain Bearskin as he was now called, did not find rest. He could not settle in a place for long, because the filth of his body and the unkempt appearance of his hair and beard scared many. He spent a lot of his coin on the poor and less fortunate than he, giving them money from his bottomless pockets. Each time, he would ask them to pray for Old Captain Bearskin, for he could not pray for himself.

Eventually, about four years into his service to Mephisto, he could no longer rent a room to stay in without paying heavily. As he lay in his skin one night, he heard a man bemoaning the state of things. He got up, and knocked at the man’s door. When he opened it, he was afraid, but he let Bearskin in and explained the problem.

The man, Nicholas by name, could not pay his mountains of debt. He had three sons, and could not support his family anymore. Indeed, he had no idea how he would pay the innkeeper in the morning. Bearskin, taking pity on the man, pulled several pouches worth of gold from his pockets, and gifted it to the man.

Nicholas could not believe his eyes. He offered anything that Bearskin could ever want, lamenting that he did not have daughters to offer to him in marriage. Bearskin wrinkled his nose at the idea, shunning the thought that someone should do something that they did not want to do. Instead, he requested that he meet his sons, and like a proud father was wont to do, he introduced them from oldest to youngest.

Johann, the eldest, turned his nose up at Bearskin, making fun of his tatty green coat and his smelly, rotten bearskin. Bearskin wasn’t pleased, but he was used to it, offering to break bread with him later. He was rudely rebuffed, the proud man not wanting anything to do with a stinking mongrel. Bearskin shook his head, and moved on to the next one.

Helmut, the middle child, was no better. He lounged in his father’s house like a prince and did not offer Bearskin a drink of water or even a bite of bread. Bearskin wasn’t pleased, but he offered again to break bread with the man. Helmut laughed at him, and Bearskin shook his head, moving on to the last son.

Phillip, the youngest, was different from his brothers. He immediately stood and offered Bearskin a place at the hearth where it was warmest, a mug of ale, and a loaf of brown, crusty bread. Pleased by this, Bearskin got to know the young man better. They spoke long into the night, and Bearskin was struck by how the young man’s eyes shone as he spoke of things that interested him. Never once, Bearskin noticed, did Phillip make a note of how filthy his appearance was.

Phillip was not too proud to thank Bearskin profusely for helping his father. Bearskin, not sure what to do with such kindness, simply stated that the young man should pray for Old Captain Bearskin, since he could not pray for himself.

Phillip promised to do just that, and before he left the next afternoon, Bearskin sawed a golden ring in half. He handed one half to Phillip, and promised to return to check on him in three years’ time. The half of the ring would be so that Phillip would recognize him, should something change. Phillip packed him a bag full of food and drink, and saw him to the gate himself.

Bearskin, finding himself struck by the kindness of the young man, resolved to return and ask for his hand in marriage.

Three years passed.

On the seventh hour of the seventh day of the seventh year, Mephisto appeared by Bearskin’s campsite, grumbling that the man had actually managed to do it. He took the tatty coat and made it like new again, the bearskin shriveling and blowing away like a dried leaf. Steven rose and cleaned himself up, Mephisto shaving him and cutting his hair as he promised. He soaked for a long time, the filth of seven years melting away to reveal the handsome young man he’d been before. He dressed in finery, purchasing a large gelding and returned to Nicholas’s house, where the three brothers were there to greet him.

Johann and Helmut clamored for the stranger’s attention, not realizing it was Bearskin. Steven humored them, but couldn’t help but notice that Phillip seemed withdrawn, almost sad. He resolved to speak with him more at dinner. Nicholas, his old friend, was overjoyed to see him, having turned the gold that he had given him into a successful business. He offered to repay Steven, but Steven only asked that his identity not be revealed.

Later, at dinner, he seated himself next to the man who had been kind to him. He spoke often of marriage, but noticed that Phillip barely responded to him, enough to be polite, but no enthusiasm. Steven announced then, that he was seeking a companion to travel the world with him. Johann and Helmut ran off to prepare their trunks, but Steven only had eyes for Phillip.

When he asked what was wrong, Phillip smiled.

“Begging your pardon, m’lord. I met a man three years ago, one who was kind and generous. We spoke through the night and I found myself quite in love with him. But he hasn’t returned when he promised. I fear that something has befallen him, and thus I cannot be properly cheerful for your visit.” His eyes were sad. “My brothers have teased me for this for three years, giving me old bearskins to sleep on, but they’re petty men. I just wish I could have known him better.”

Steven smiled in return, and poured Phillip a glass of wine. He slipped his half of the ring into the cup, and watched Phillip drink. When he found it, his eyes widened, and he threw himself at Steven, who caught him, laughing.

Steven tilted Phillip’s chin up.

“You waited, and were faithful. Should you wish it, we can be married, and you will never want for anything again.” Steven’s smile was wide, and Phillip couldn’t do anything but nod. Steven kissed his fiancé, and he decided that he had made the correct choice.

Nicholas was overjoyed to see his son so happy, and agreed to the marriage straight off. His brothers, on the other hand, were so consumed with jealousy, that one leapt from the gables of the house, and the other rode off in a huff, only to be thrown, killing him instantly.

Despite this, Steven and Phillip were married, and moved into a home that Steven purchased with his coat pockets full of gold. Their first night there, they had only one visitor. He rapped seven times on the door, and Steven was shocked to see Mephisto. He settled himself in for a fight, but the devil held up a hand.

“Relax, Bearskin. I’m not here for you or your husband. I just popped by to thank you.” Mephisto’s smile was toothy, and his eyes glowed red. “I lost out on your soul, but I got two in return. I’d call that a hell of a deal.”

He laughed, before fading out with a whiff of brimstone. Steven and Phillip never saw him again, but lived happily together until the end of their days.

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of the prompts I've received on my new tumblr blog Capsicoulets. If you feel the need to prompt me, feel free:
> 
> http://capsicoulets.tumblr.com/
> 
> Still open for prompts!
> 
> I'll probably post the rest of the finished ones later, when I've thought of titles for them.


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